The Friendship Circle
by MrsMCM
Summary: Sequel to Secret Keepers. BS are married, have kids, havn't seen Tris or Daja in years! Back by popular demand. WIP (Work In Progress)!
1. Chapter 1 Reunion

Chapter 1

It was a very exciting day for Sandry and Briar Moss. Their best friends, Trisana Chandler and Daja Kisubo, were coming to visit for a week. Within a few days, Dedicates Lark, Rosethorn and Frostpine would meet up with the renowned mage, Niklaren Goldeye, on the road to join the reunion. Sandry was, of course, in a flurry of excitement and activity, rushing this way and that, making final preparations for their guests' arrival. Only the sound of a small voice coming from down the hall stopped her frantic pace through the manor in Summersea, Emelan.

"Mother."

"Pirisi, what is it?" Her oldest daughter, now ten, stood in the doorway leading to one of the larger courtyards.

"Mother, Ukeli is playing with the horses again."

"Oh dear, I'll be there in just a moment. Where's your father, Piri?"

"Right here." Briar's voice came from behind Sandry. She turned to find him holding their youngest, and most temperamental, child by the hand. Ukeli shifted his weight from one barefoot to the other.

"Uki, what were you doing in the stables?" Sandry asked, worriedly.

"Mamma, I was only playing with the horsies." His three-year-old face showed a sorrowful guilt. Briar looked down at his son, who looked so much like his father, and then to his oldest daughter, who was a miniature version of her mother. He glanced at Sandry, the love of his life, with a grim look. He knew that one day, Uki was going to show his predisposition to horses, and he worried about finding a tutor for Piri, and his other daughter, Starr.

"Pirisi, where is your sister?" Sandry asked, reading the look on Briar's face as one that said they needed to talk.

With an exaggerated sigh, Piri answered, "Probably up in the west tower again."

"Will you get Starr, and make sure that the three of you are clean and dressed? Our guests will be arriving soon."

With a cheerful smile, Piri beckoned to her younger brother.

"Come on Uki. I'll race you to the tower."

The children took off on a mad dash across the courtyard.

Briar sighed, and held Sandry in his arms. He loved to just sit with her, or talk with her. Just being with her made him happy, and he was so very glad that she had married him almost eleven years ago.

"Ukeli worries me, Sandry. His obvious taste for horses has to be his magic coming through. With Starr and her astronomy, and Piri quickly coming of age, I thought that I would have my little boy so much longer. But I wonder if I'm being selfish in not wanting him to grow up."

"Briar," Sandry turned in his arms and kissed him gently, reassuringly, "Pirisi is only ten years old; she has another four years before she must make a decision between marriage, and magic. And who's to say that she won't choose a path that neither of us ever saw coming. As for Starr, when I talked to Tris last month, she said that she would be happy to look and see if what Luna lee has is magic or merely a very strong interest."

Briar smiled, and kissed his wife.

"I noticed how you skimmed over Ukeli. His inclination to the equine is simple enough to explain. He's three years old. Like his father, Uki is curious about the world around him. Maybe it has nothing to do with magic at all. Piri is a mage, Starr an astronomer, perhaps Uki is a normal little boy. It would certainly make things less complicated around here."

"About Uki I worry little, he is very much like you. I know that whatever path he takes he will navigate with ease. It is Pirisi I'm concerned about right now. She is getting old so quickly. Wise beyond her years and her being a mage does not help matters. I fear that if I have her help too much she will wonder what life outside the manor is like. I sometimes feel that she could run a household on her own. I don't want my babies to leave."

Briar ran his hands reassuringly up and down Sandry's back.

"Now Sandrilene, as you said, she is only ten years old. It's as if we are marrying her off already." He grinned teasingly.

"Don't say things like that Briar!" Sandry punched him lightly in the chest.

"That's right Sandry. You keep him in line!" A laughing voice came from the front of the hall.

"Daja!"

Sandry ran straight to the heavy-set black woman, and threw her arms around Daja Kisubo in a hug. Briar followed at a slightly slower pace.

"So Trader girl, how've you been keeping yourself?" Briar jokingly asked as he helped extract Daja from Sandry's all encompassing grip.

"Pretty good, thief boy, how 'bout you?"

"As well as can be expected." He smiled down at a small figure peeking out from behind Daja's bulky form.

"Well hello. Who's this little dear?"

Daja grimaced at Sandry, either at her sugary sweet tone, or her subject.

"That," Daja said, jerking a thumb over shoulder, "Is Bronze. I found the little waif on the side of the road on the way here. Doesn't speak a word of Common, only has a basic grasp of Trader, and mostly gets by with fundamental hand gestures. I couldn't just leave her. I figured I'd keep her until I got back to Winding Circle. I hope you don't mind my assumption that it would be fine to bring her along. If she's going to be an imposition, I'll settle her in the stables, or something."

"Of course not! Daja, you know me better, the more the merrier! By all means, Bronze is more than welcome in our home, isn't she Briar?"

Briar nodded his agreement, and knelt down to tell Bronze in Tradertalk,

"My name is Briar, How old are you Bronze?"

Daja laughed and told Sandry in Common,

"If she won't talk to me, what makes him think -" She stopped when Bronze stuck her head out, and whispered,

"Six."

Briar glanced at Daja triumphantly, before speaking to Bronze again.

"I have a little girl about your age. Would you like to meet her?"

Bronze nodded, then shook her head.

"Why not? Why don't you want to meet Lunalee?"

"I don't want to meet your slave."

Sandry sputtered, "Slave?" then in a calmer voice, and in Tradertalk, she said to Bronze, "Dear, we have no slaves here, only a few paid servants. We don't believe in slavery."

Bronze nodded, and then told Briar, "Then I will meet your Lunalee."

"Auntie Tris! Auntie Tris!" came a shriek voice from the front of the manor.

Trisana Chandler came around the corner holding the hand of a blonde girl who talking enthusiastically.

"- and then I saw four new stars that I had never seen before, and I charted them, just like you showed me. I was so excited!"

Tris smiled down at Lunalee "Starr" Moss, Briar and Sandry's second child. Piri and Uki followed happily. Sandry cried out, and flung her arms around Tris. Daja and Briar laughed, going to help set the red-haired woman free from Sandry's grasp. When they finally worked them apart, Sandry was crying, Tris had tears, and Daja's eyes were damp. Briar just smiled. This was the first time they'd all been together at the same time in almost four years. He could feel the closeness again, as if they'd never been separated. It was a good feeling. Briar noticed Piri talking quietly with Bronze off to one side. He was happy to see the younger girl growing more comfortable with his daughter's presence. He swelled with pride. Yes, it was a very good feeling indeed.


	2. Chapter 2 Fond Memories

Chapter 2

Fond Memories

The children handled the introductions, and after supper they were all happily playing with dolls and spinning tops. The adults were sitting with cups of tea, watching them play, and reminiscing over old times.

"Remember the first time we meditated, when Niko took us to the Hub, and we sat on the stairs?"

Tris asked with a smile.

"Yeah! That was the time when we saw those mages controlling the heartfire."

Daja added with a grin of her own.

"That seems like such a long time ago, yet I remember it like it was just yesterday." Sandry sighed. Briar put his arm around her shoulders.

"It was almost twenty years ago, dear." Briar reminded her.

Tris and Daja smiled at each other.

"Remember, my dear friend, Trisana," Daja started in a mock haughty tone, "When lovely little Sandrilene and Briar here first realized they were meant to be together."

"Oh yes, darling Daja," Tris replied, playing along, her eyes dancing behind her spectacles, "I recall one time when I'd come back from studying the shore with Niko, and found them up in the attic."

Tris laughed, Daja chuckling along with her. Briar smiled at the memory, and at the look on his wife's face. Sandry blushed lightly and retorted,

"We weren't doing anything!"

Daja looked skeptical.

"Honestly!" Sandry huffed, "Briar only wanted to talk to me."

This made Tris laugh even harder. Daja asked,

"Did you ever have that conversation?"

Sandry knew a moment of pause, while she searched her mind for the answer. She looked questioningly at Briar. He answered the three women now staring expectantly at him.

"The next day, when we were up on the wall."

Sandry looked like she remembered what he was talking about, but Daja and Tris still looked confused.

"Briar and I went up on the wall, for walk. While we were up there we talked about the day before when he caught me." Sandry explained.

Tris asked,

"Caught you what?"

Briar's face lost some of its color, and his eyes lost their teasing light, when he remembered that day. He felt a warm hand hold his, and vaguely he realized that Sandry was retelling the story to their friends. Briar didn't need her sweet voice to help recall the horrific events of that day.

He was lost in a fog, then he was sixteen again, lying on the roof at Discipline cottage. Sandry had joined him, and he'd thought about kissing her. It was a thought that startled him, because he'd never thought of her like that before. He'd jumped to his feet, and when he'd tried to get past her without touching her, she'd stepped back, almost off the edge of the roof.

He could still see her face, when she'd realized that she'd gone too far. He didn't remember much after that, (his mind had gone into shutdown panic mode,) but he knew that he'd grabbed her, pulled her against him, and breathed a sigh of relief that she was alive. He could still summon up the fact that she'd been as scared as he, because she'd been crying, and it had killed him to see that.

A soft voice calling his name dragged back another memory. The first time that he'd realized that he loved her. Briar was wrapping her hand in bandages after she'd punched a Count on the nose, because of something he'd said about _Briar_. She'd pulled away from his ministrations, because in his awed enthusiasm, he'd gripped to tightly. Then Sandry had started to talk about being proper, and some such nonsense, and he'd kissed her. Briar still recalled her instantaneous response, her lips soft on his, but just as demanding. Then he remembered Dedicate Rosethorn walking in, and spoiling an otherwise perfect way to spend one's morning.

"I think that he's dead." Tris's teasing lilt came through the fog.

"Tris, don't joke like that, I'm really worried. Briar, are you listening?"

"Don't worry, Sandry. He looks like he's enjoying wherever he just floated off to. At least he does know, before he was pale as a ghost. He's getting his color back." Daja's no-nonsense voice flitted across the room to where Briar was slowly climbing out of his reverie.

The pressure of a small hand pressed against his forehead threw the surrounding fog into stark contrast with the glowing green ember above him. He knew what that was, and he reached out for it. Briar knew that if he let Pirisi and her magic trek down here, then she'd get a very interesting look at what her Mamma and Daddy were like when they were alone.


	3. Chapter 3 Children Will Be Just That!

Chapter 3

Children Will Be Just That!

In the room, Piri looked at her mother in amazement. She was so beautiful, her age had graced her with both dignity and poise, if not height, and wisdom and grace beyond her years. But the tiny glimpse of her that her father had allowed before he started to fight her intrusion, was amazing! Piri removed her hand from her father's forehead, as he blinked twice, and fixed his gaze on her. She smiled, because she'd helped him, and because

She knew what that look meant. She'd seen it several times before, and if she went about it correctly, then she could elicit a very interesting response from her parents.

"Piri, what did you do?" Briar asked her, but Piri knew he was asking what she _saw_.

"Nothing Daddy. Mamma just said to see if I could help, so I did." Pirisi smiled even sweeter, when her father zeroed in on her, then switched his gaze to her mother. As expected, his eyes softened, and a the faintest hint of a smile hover around his lips. It was obvious that her parents were in love, and it was wonderful to know that she was a product of that love. Yet, as thrilling as it was to sit still and watch Mamma and Daddy making eyes at each other, (AN: Pirisi is almost as sarcastic as Tris!) Piri wanted to see just how far she could go.

"Oh, and Mamma, you were absolutely beautiful when you were younger!" Piri laughed when her fathers face blanched, and he looked at Piri again. Since she knew what was coming, she simply answered before he could ask.

"Daddy, I know you love Mamma, but do you think that you could stop daydreaming long enough to get me my Grammar Reader? I want to show Bronze."

Tris and Daja laughed, Sandry even giggled. Briar just sighed, stood, and went over to the mantel, where they kept Pirisi's learning books. Reaching for the Grammar Reader, he told his oldest daughter,

"Piri, you know as well as I, that it is not polite to flit in and out of peoples minds."

"I don't think that would have stopped you."

He turned to see the only person who still treated him like he was a boy.


	4. More Dedicated Conversations

Chapter 4

More Dedicated Conversations

Dedicate Rosethorn of the Temple Community of Winding Circle, in Emelan, stood in the doorway to the sitting room. At closing in on fifty, her auburn hair was streaked with strands of white, that shone golden blonde in the firelight. She had broad shoulders, long legs, and a square, stubborn jaw. When they were younger, Briar and Rosethorn were similar in height, but now he stood a head taller than she.

"Rosethorn, you are standing in the way."

Came a gruff voice from behind her. Daja's face lit up as Dedicate Frostpine entered the salon. He was a large sturdy black man, with a beard that stuck out every which way. Daja ran to give him a hug, while Sandry stood and smiled welcomingly at their visitors. Tris frowned in confusion.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be here for another day and a half."

Dedicate Lark, her skin almost the same golden shade as Briar's, and her black hair cropped close to her ears, came into the room, with the renowned mage Niklaren Goldeye at her heels. Niko wore everyday traveling clothes, breeches and a shirt, but his wealth showed in the fine workmanship of the cloth, and in the beautifully made boots that adorned his feet.

Sandry gave Lark, Niko, and Frostpine hugs, then paused when she got to Rosethorn. Rosethorn grinned when she saw the predicament on Sandrilene's face. Rosethorn had never been one to appreciate shows of affection, but she had never been closer to four children. Sandry smiled back, and gave Rosethorn a quick hug, then invited everyone to have a seat. While she rang for more tea, they all settled in front of the fire, and the newcomers were introduced to Bronze.

As they played by the fire, Pirisi spoke to Bronze in Tradertalk. Since her mother, father, and aunts spoke fluently, Piri had made it a point to as well. She disliked it when people spoke around her in a language she could not understand. However, Bronze didn't seem very inclined to say much. It was quite a difference from Piri's sister, Lunalee. Starr chattered incessantly, and Gods' forbid you try and get a word in edgewise. Ukeli, though only three, would speak clearly and well, but only about things he truly seemed to like. Horses, for instance. Piri could see the spirit of a young stallion in him, ready to ride on a whim. Sometimes she saw him glowing faintly, most commonly when he was in the stables or near horses of any kind. Star never seemed to glow, but enjoyed stargazing too much to merely be another ordainary girl.

Turning the page in the book she was showing to Bronze, she thought she saw a flicker of something in Bronze's eyes. Thinking about it, Piri tried a trick she had heard about in the market one time. She turned Bronze to face her, then looked deep into her eyes.

Niko saw a light turn on out of the corner of his eye, and turned to study the two girls reading by the firelight. Piri glowed a steady green, and Bronze with a light color that shifted to and fro, as if playing hide-and-seek. Niko blinked, Piri was stretching her magic across the distance between the girls, and seemed to be searching for something inside of the younger girl.

A small yelp of pain, and the magical bond was snapped. Piri had a strong power, and Bronze had something she was hiding. Maybe Niko would look into procuring a tutor for Briar and Sandry's eldest daughter. In the mean time, Lunalee showed promise as an astronomer and Ukeli had a future with horses. It would be up to Piri how much training she would like to go through. She already had an incredible amount of control, otherwise she would have blinded him with her little experiment. He would definitely make it a point to discuss their daughters' welfare with Sandry and Briar.


End file.
